Library of Congress Hosts Ode to Copyright

Lawmakers and their spouses sat down to a performance of well-known hits at a Tuesday night concert in the Library of Congress.

“We love music,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said of he and his wife, Kelley, who was also present at a reception before the concert. “I think one of the amazing things is to see the writers perform their own songs.”

“He loves to do things like this when I’m in town,” Kelley Paul said of her husband. “If I’m not, he tends to get sucked into his regular meetings.”

Artists from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers played for a full house. Songwriter Elvin Bishop kicked off the night with his hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” performed with Mickey Thomas. Siedah Garrett, the writer behind Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” drew cheers and applause from the crowd for her performance of the famous song.

Garrett performs “Man in the Mirror.” (Courtesy ASCAP Foundation)

Between numbers, they and other songwriters discussed the institution of copyright and reminded the audience that the lawmakers present held the power to protect intellectual property.

“I remember when the Napster guy said, ‘I just want to share the music,'” Bishop said. “My instant reaction was, ‘Man, why don’t you share something that belongs to you instead of something that belongs to me?'”